In a significant move to combat child hunger, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced the rollout of hundreds more free breakfast clubs across Birmingham. The expansion targets primary schools in the city's most impoverished areas, with the Prime Minister declaring ending child poverty a 'personal mission'.
Expanding the Reach to Fight Hunger
The extended scheme means an additional 127 schools in Birmingham will now qualify for the government-funded breakfast club offer. However, these schools must apply to participate. This initiative follows a first-phase pilot involving 27 city schools, which, while welcomed, faced some criticism.
Headteachers reported that the initial funding was insufficient to cover all costs, particularly for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities. Some schools even had to resort to measures like diluting juice and avoiding perishable fruit to keep within budget. Others noted they already ran similar services in cooperation with local businesses and volunteers.
Increased Funding and Broader Ambitions
In response to feedback, the government has slightly increased the funding allocation. Under the new scheme, the amount provided per child has risen to £1 a day. The broader context for this expansion is a deepening cost-of-living crisis, with wages failing to keep up with soaring food costs, leading to a growing number of children falling into poverty in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.
Speaking to BirminghamLive from Downing Street, Keir Starmer urged eligible schools to apply, stating the clubs would be a 'game changer' for children in Birmingham. He positioned this as one of several cost-of-living measures, alongside capping school uniform costs, providing free school meals, offering free childcare from nine months, and increases to the minimum wage.
The Lingering Question of the Two-Child Cap
Despite this action, the Prime Minister would not commit to a key demand from anti-poverty campaigners: lifting the two-child benefit cap. This policy limits welfare payments to the first two children in a household. 24.2% of Birmingham families who claim benefits have three or more children and are adversely affected by this cap.
There is hope that Chancellor Rachel Reeves may address the cap in the upcoming budget, but only if sufficient funds can be found. The government has also promised to publish a long-delayed child poverty strategy by this autumn.
The benefits of the breakfast club scheme are multifaceted. As well as ensuring children are fed and ready to learn, a free breakfast is estimated to save a household up to £450 a year and give back 95 hours of time to parents. The government's goal is to have 500 new clubs open by April 2026, backed by an £80 million investment.
